Raphael Varane

At 31 years old, Raphael Varane has this physical status:

Raphaël Xavier Varane (born 25 April 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Spanish club Real Madrid and the France national team.He previously played for French club Lens and, ahead of the 2010–11 season, began training with the senior team and appeared on the bench in several league matches.

Varane made his professional debut in 2010 aged 17, in a league match against Montpellier.

After one season with the French club, and as a professional footballer, Varane joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2011. Since joining the Spanish giants, he has made over 250 appearances for the club and has won 16 major honours including: two La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles.

At only 24 years of age, Varane won his third UEFA Champions League trophy making him the youngest defender ever to have won three Champions League trophies, beating Paolo Maldini who was 26 when he won his third Champions League title.Varane was a France youth international, having earned caps at under-18, under-20 and under-21 level.

He made his full international debut in March 2013 and represented the country at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

After an admirable performance during the 2014 FIFA World Cup he was nominated for the Best Young Player award. He won the 2018 FIFA World Cup in which he played every minute of every game. Varane has been described by Lens youth coach Eric Assadourian as a "truly first class player" who is "comfortable on both the tactical and technical level".

Many ex players and current football managers, such as Fernando Hierro and José Mourinho, consider Varane to be one of the best defenders in world football.

Personal life

Varane is married to his long-time partner Camille Tytgat, and they have a son named Ruben and a daughter named Anaïs.

When Zinedine Zidane called Varane about Real Madrid's interest in signing him in June 2011, Varane asked Zidane to call him back because he was in the middle of studying for his baccalaureate exam.

His brother, Jonathan Varane, is a professional footballer who currently plays for Rodez AF. His sister, Annabelle Varane, was Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais 2018 and competed in Miss France 2019.

Source

Club career

Varane was born in Lille, France, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais zone. Gaston, his father, is from Le Morne-Rouge, but his mother, Annie, was born in Saint-Amand-les-Eaux. Varane began playing in Lille's Arrondissement at the age of seven, and he continued his football career with AS Hellemmes, a local club. Despite some concern from Derby du Nord rivals and hometown club Lille OSC, he rejoined professional club RC Lens in July 2002. Varane spent time at the Centre de Préformation de Football in Liévin, a training center for players born in the Nord-Pas-Calais region, reflecting the club's previous high-valued assets, such as Gal Kakuta and Timothée Kolodziejczak. He spent two years at the center, spent two years at the gym during the weekdays and on weekends with Lens.

Varane soared to the top of the youth teams after returning to Lens full-time. He was part of the club's under-16 team that won the Championnat National Des 16 ans in the 2008-09 season, as well as teammates Thorgan Hazard and Geoffrey Kondogbia. Varane was promoted to the club's under-19 team in the following season, despite being two years younger than many of his peers. Varane signed his first professional contract ahead of the 2010–11 season. He was then promoted to the club's reserve team in the Championnat de France amateur competition. Varane made his amateur debut in the club's first league match of the season by beating Drancy 2–0. He served as a starter in the team's next nine games, with only one of them losing only one.

Varane was called up by boss Jean-Guy Wallemme to train in late October of the season, ahead of the club's match against Montpellier on November 6th. Varane played for the entire week and was surprisingly named in the starting lineup after suffering from a right-back injury to Alaeddine Yahia. In the match, he played the entire 90 minutes, earning a 2–0 victory. The win was only the club's third straight sheet of the season. Varane was lauded by peers, most notably captain Adil Hermach, defensive partner Éric Chelle, and striker David Pollet, as well as local media and coach Wallemme. Varane and several other youth players were on the bench as Lens faced two strong teams in Marseille and Lyon in the next two games. In a 4–1 loss to Brest on November 30, he returned to the starting lineup. Varane remained a starter in the team under new boss László Bölöni despite Wallemme's dismissal following the Brest match. Varane was deployed in the defensive midfielder role in the team's match against Bordeaux in December, with both Chelle and Yahia returning to action. In the 84th minute, he appeared as a roving third center-back and made a blocked save in the 84th minute on a close range shot by Yoan Gouffran to keep a 2–1 lead. However, Bordeaux managed to draw the match at 2–2 in the later stages of the match.

Varane was linked to a number of clubs in early 2011. On February 3, 2011, he signed a two-year contract extension with Lens in an attempt to quell the curiosity. Varane scored his first professional goal in a 1–1 draw with Caen on May 8th. In another 1–1 draw, he scored the equalizing goal in the team's next match against Monaco. Despite the goal, the stalemate condemned Lens to relegation back to Ligue 2 after two seasons in the top division. Varane captained Lens in their 1–0 loss to Arles-Avignon on May 21.

Varane will join Real Madrid in La Liga on June 22, 2011, according to a group of supporters at a club meeting. Varane had previously visited Real Madrid's club facilities, as well as consulting with club advisor and compatriot Zinedine Zidane. Real Madrid announced Varane's transfer on June 27th after Varane successfully completed his medical exam. Varane has been with the club for six years.

Varane was given the number 19 shirt and made his Real Madrid debut in the club's first pre-season match against American outfit Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2011 World Football Challenge. Real Madrid cruised to a 4–1 victory, with him as a half-time substitute. Varane made his first appearance for the club four days later in a 3–0 victory over Mexican club Guadalajara. He finished his pre-season campaign by appearing in seven of the eight Real Madrid contested matches.

Varane made his competitive debut for Real Madrid on September 21 in the team's league match against Racing de Santander. When the match ended 0–0, he started the game at center-back with Ricardo Carvalho. Varane scored his first goal for the team after a flying back-heel corner in Mesut zil's next league match three days later against Rayo Vallecano. Real Madrid beat Madrid 6–2. Varane's goal made him the youngest foreign player in 18 years and 152 days to score a goal in a friendly match for Real Madrid. In a 3–0 group stage win over Dutch club Ajax on September 27, he made his UEFA Champions League debut on his debut in a 3–0 group stage triumph. Varane made his second Champions League appearance against Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb two months later. Varane scored on the team's fifth goal, which was scored by José Callejón, who won 6–2 in the match. Real Madrid took first place in its group after the victory.

Varane changed to the number 2 shirt ahead of the 2012–13 season. He made his season debut in Real Madrid's first four league games on September 18th, against English club Manchester City. Real Madrid beat Madrid 32-0, Varane started and played the entire match.

Varane made his El Clásico debut against Barcelona in the 2012–13 Copa del Rey on January 30, 2013. He put an end to a string of dangerous Barcelona attempts, including a shot from Xavi that was blocked from the goal line. He capped his game with a headed goal in the game, which ended 1–1. In a Clásico match, he was also the second-youngest foreign player to score for Real Madrid. Varane scored Madrid's third goal in a 3–1 away victory on Sunday with a header from a corner kick by Mesut zil. Varane received praise from former World Cup champion Bixente Lizarazu after his appearances against Barcelona and Manchester United. "We're talking about a kid at Real Madrid who has upset Pepe, and Pepe hasn't disapproved Pepe, and Pepe, with all his possessions, is still a superb center-half," he said. His result against Manchester United and Barcelona was impressive." Varane continued to impress in the Champions League quarter final first leg against Galatasaray, where he helped Madrid keep a clean sheet in a 3–0 triumph. All of his passes found his teammates unmanned, and the bulk of his tackles were fruitful, with the majority on Didier Drogba.

Varane was selected by Marca readers as a member of the "Best foreign eleven in Real Madrid's history" in April 2013. Varane underwent an operation on his right knee after suffering an injury while playing against Real Sociedad in 2012-13 league matches.

Varane appeared in the 2014 Copa del Rey Final, where Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 2–1 on April 16th as an injury-time replacement for Karim Benzema. In the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final, he appeared in all 120 minutes of Real Madrid's 4–1 victory over Atlético Madrid in the place of the more experienced Pepe. Varane kicked the ball into Atlético boss Diego Simeone, causing him to run into the ground in protest at a later date. Simeone was sent to the stands and Varane was booked for the crime. Varane was dismissed due to his youth during the game, according to Simeone himself, "I also made a mistake with my reaction." He's a young guy with a promising future." Varane agreed to a new six-year deal on September 18th to keep him at Real Madrid until 2020. When the team won the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, he was a part-time starter.

Despite suffering few injuries during the season, he made 23 appearances in 2017-19 La Liga when Madrid defeated Madrid. When Madrid defeated the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, he was competing in the final.

Varane's contract was postponed until 2022, according to the 27th September 2017. He made eleven appearances in the 2017-2018 UEFA Champions League, when Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall Champions League title. Following his club and international success, he was voted in the 30-man shortlist for the 2018 Ballon d'Or, finishing in seventh place in the final rankings. He was also ranked ninth in The Best FIFA Men's Player behind Kevin De Bruyne, and was named as the starting center-back for both the 2018 FIFPro Men's World11 and the UEFA Team of the Year.

He made 43 appearances in the 2018–19 season, winning the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup for the first time. As Real Madrid won the 2019-20 La Liga title, he was a regular starter during the following league seasons. Madrid was disqualified in the round of 16 by Manchester City during the Champions League. Madrid lost the game 2–1, in the second leg at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, with Varane being held accountable for both goals. Varane lost possession of the ball both times due to Gabriel Jesus' high pressuring, which culminated in him losing possession of the ball both times. He has since apologised for his mistakes.

Manchester United and Real Madrid had reached an agreement for Varane's transfer on July 27, 2021, subject to a medical and player contract being reached. Varane's transfer was completed on August 1421 after Varane was announced in front of a packed Old Trafford crowd ahead of United's Premier League opener against Leeds United. He was given the number 19 shirt he had worn during his first season with Real Madrid, which he also wore during his first season with Real Madrid. In a 1–0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, he made his debut on August 29th and was an assist in the winning goal.

Varane's first goal for the club against Brentford was scored on May 2nd, 2022.

Varane sustained a leg injury in a Premier League match against Chelsea on October 22nd, 2022. Varane will be out of all of the club's matches until the 2022 FIFA World Cup break, according to United manager Erik ten Hag, leaving Varane's chances of being in the France squad for the tournament uncertain.

International career

Varane was a France youth international with caps at under-18, under-20, and under-21 levels.

He had been called up to the under-17 squad prior to playing for the under-18 team but did not turn up. Varane made his under-18 debut against Denmark on August 24th. He scored the final goal in a 2–0 victory on his debut. Varane refused to call ups to the under-18 squad due to his increased involvement with the Lens first team, and as a result, skipped the Tournoi de Limoges and a tournament in Israel. For the first time against Slovakia, he was called up to the under-21 squad by coach Erick Mombaerts on February 3, 2011. Varane called the call up "a major surprise." In a 3–1 victory over Slovakia, he earned his first under-21 cap and got off to a good start. Varane scored his first under-21 goal in a 2–0 2013 Euro U-21 qualifying victory over Slovakia on Friday. With the victory, France qualified to at least the competition's qualifier play-offs.

Varane was called to the French national team squad for a friendly against Uruguay in August 2012, but it was an ineffective substitute. On March 22, 2013, he started his first match for France against Georgia in a qualifier for the World Cup against Georgia, a 3–1 victory. He was named in Didier Deschamps' squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on May 13, 2014.

He joined Mamadou Sakho in central defense for Les Bleus' first World Cup match, defeating Honduras 3–0. As France was eliminated at the quarter-final stage by the Germans 1–0, he was also in the starting lineup for the second group match against Switzerland and the knockout matches against Nigeria and Germany. Varane accepted responsibility for allowing Mats Hummels to hold him off at the crucial set-piece that allowed him to lead the winning goal. Despite this, Varane was selected on the three-man shortlist for the tournament's Best Young Player award. Varane took over from Blaise Matuidi at halftime on October 14th, defeating Armenia 3–0. He was then named as the team's starting captain for a home friendly against Sweden on November 18th, where he scored his first international goal to give Les Bleus a 1–0 win.

He was ruled out of UEFA Euro 2016 with a thigh injury, and Adil Rami replaced him on May 24.

Varane was called up to France's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup on May 17th. He will get off to play in all seven of France's games and watch every minute. Varane scored the first goal with a header in France's 2–0 victory in the quarter-finals against Uruguay. France won the tournament for the second time in history, and Varane became only the fourth player to win the World Cup and Champions League in the same year after Christian Karembeu (1998), Roberto Carlos (in 2002), and Sami Khedira (in 2014). At the time they won the World Cup, all the participants, including Varane, were playing for Real Madrid.

He was selected in the squad for the UEFA Euro 2020 in May 2021. Varane appeared in every minute of France's four matches at the tournament, including the period of extra time at the end of their round of 16 matches against Switzerland; the match ended on penalties, but Varane was not allowed to take one of the first five kicks as France lost 5–4.

Source